am i doing something incorrectly

[mgoodbar]

i am completly new to this first off. yester day i took my tumbler out of the box and filled it half way up with some red media that i bought at bas pro shop. it was the only thing they sold there. I loaded about 250 rounds in the tumbler and a couple hrs later i cam back to check it out. The cases lookd brand new on the out side, but had theis fine red powder on the inside. so i took my Lee press and got set up to un-prime the cases. lubed them up and got to work. I noticed that half way through the cases my lub was red, my hands were red, hell everything was red. am i supose to wash the cases after the tumbler with solvent of some kind??? this stuff was messy as i dont know what kind it is of hand.... the stuff i bought looks like Red kitty litter.... I spent about 3 hrs cleaning red junk of everything.. any help would be great...

 

[Titegroups]

You need to get some different media. I use "Pet Bedding" corn cob from walmart, $4/bag. Works very well and last a long time.

 

[geddylee10002000]

It sounds like red polishing compound. Jewelers red rouge. You can get rid of it with any solvent. You can soak the media in the same solvent to get most of the compound off it. Get some pet bedding (lizard bedding) at the local pet store to replace it. It is cheaper than "tumbling" media made for reloaders. Heck, even coarse ground corn meal will work also. I have used rice before.

 

[Engineer1911]

Did you buy 'pet litter' or 'tumbling media'? New tumbling media is "polish rich" so that there is great cleaning action and shiny brass but then you get the mess you experienced.

You didn't state the caliber you reloaded, but if it was straight-wall handgun cases, now you know why they sell carbide sizer dies -- no lube required. I don't wash or wet clean my brass -- what comes out of the tumbler goes through the Dillon press. But, I also shoot dirty guns.

Bottom line from the information given, I don't believe you did anything wrong and don't have to change anything. It is not necessary to lube straight wall handgun brass with carbide sizer die. Straight wall cases are 9 mm, 38/357, 40 S&W, 45 acp, 44 mag.

 

[mgoodbar]

Lyman Case Tufnut Cleaning media.. just looked it up.. they do sell other stuff i just found online. I guess i just did not see it wile i was there at the store. I was cleaning 9mm. I am reloading 9mm 40, 45, and soon to have a 223..

 

[Rule3]

The dust will eventually settle down after several uses.

If you use dryer sheets in the laundry put a few used sheets in when you tumble the brass.

We do not use them so I use, used hand wipes that I use at the range (Wet ones, Walmart brand)

If you do not have those, the heavy blue paper shop towels dampened with some water (not soaking wet) work well. I have some old spray car wax I spray mine with, you could use Pledge or something.

After tumbling pull out the cloth or rag and it will be filthy.

Edit:
What tumbler do you have?
You also might have a little too much media in the tumbler, take out some so it is a little below half full. Usually the tumbler instructions will say how much to put in.

 

[FirebirdV8]

http://www.hi-techammo.com/
If you go to hi tech ammo, about half way down the page they have Medium Ground Corn Cob Media at $7 for 10 pounds. Get 20 pounds and you will have enough for a long time. These guys are great to work with and have reasonable shipping rates. Give them a call and see what you think.

Otherwise, look into some carbide dies for straight walled brass so you can skip the lube.

Enjoy reloading and all of the options it brings in shooting.

 

[ohiococonut]

Sounds like you got some Lymans with red rougue. It's messy stuff to be sure and can be a pain to clean off. You can go to Walmart and buy crushed corncob pet bedding and mix it 50/50 to eliminate most of the excess. Just mix the two and let it run for a while.

You can take your tumbled cases and dump them in the center of an old towel. Then grab the lefthand corners with your left hand and the righthand corners with your right. Pick it up, with your hands held out at shoulders width, and use an opposing up and down motion to roll them around and wipe off the red junk. It will get all of it except what's inside and the inner portion of the rim. It beats wiping them off one at a time.

I still have a 3/4 full jug of the stuff I won't use because it's so messy. I use the pet bedding and car polishing compound.

 

[mgoodbar]

OK thanks guys.. Im going to wally world today to see what they have. yea its the Red stuff. Man its a mess. Im gona swap out. thanks..

 

[buck460XVR]

Throw in a regular paper towel torn into 4 pieces or so. Throw in a new one each time you tumble. It will pick up the majority of the rouge. Or you can mix in some untreated media and it too will absorb the excess.

 

[mgoodbar]

OK. i will give it a try thanks again

 

[Rule3]

At the Pet Store get some Lizard Bedding, the ground English Walnut to mix in. WalMart around here does not have it. Petco or Petsmart. The corn cob stuff is too coarse,

Zilla - Where Reptiles Rule » Desert Blend | Products | Bedding

If you have a Harbor Freight you can get blasting media (walnut) 25 lbs to last you a lifetime for much cheaper.

 

[97thSignalman]

I just buy anyone of several brands of untreated tumbling media made by folks like Frankford Arsenal and Hornady. I have used some corn cob but I prefer walnut shell. Corn cob is a little soft leaves cases smoother but the harder walnut shell media is better for getting off stubborn hard deposits. I don't use media with additives. However, I do use some white rejuvinator powder occasiionally to extend the life of a batch of media. When the cases get dusty I wipe them off with a paper towel. I have not had to deal with any red stuff.

I heartily endorse the use of carbide dies with straight walled cases. That includeds 9mm, .38/.357, .45 colt, .41 special/.41 mag, .45 ACP, .40 S&W. They can all be sized in carbide dies without lube. About the only exception is .30 carbine; it's too long to work without lube and the die manufacturers will tell you to use lube. The carbide dies cost more but they are worth every penny. I don't even know why they bother to make anything else.

Recently I bought a Lyman ultra-sonic cleaner and I now do a several prep process. I deprime and clean the primer pockets. Then I clean ultrasonicly. That gets off all the carbon deposits and stains and even cleans the inside of the cases. Then I rinse in water and air dry. The text day I tumble and wipe off the cases.

I run the ultrasonic cleaner for 2 or 3 twelve-minute periods. I run the tumbler for 2-3 hours with walnut shell media. My cases look like new inside and out when I'm done. Then I am ready for sizing.

I know all this sounds obsessive but that's me and I have the luxury of time because I am retired.

 

[dickttx]

From Drill Spot.com-40# corn cob blasting media. 40/20 size. $23.11 delivered via UPS. Biggest problem is what to store it in after opening. That is a lot of corn cobs.

 

[Rule3]

From Drill Spot.com-40# corn cob blasting media. 40/20 size. $23.11 delivered via UPS. Biggest problem is what to store it in after opening. That is a lot of corn cobs.

High fiber corn bread or muffins.

 

[Fishslayer]

You didn't do anything wrong.

You can save a bundle by getting the lizard litter others have mentioned. Any pet or feed stor should have it. It's crushed walnut shells. It will clean faster but not give that blazing shine some of us like so well but is good to go as far as loading and going bang.

For the bright shine you'll want crushed corn cob media.

There are a gazillion different polishes & whatnot available. They will extend the life of your media. I use Nu Finish car polish.

I used to go for the blazing bright brass but got over it. Now I dump a dollop of Nu Finish in the lizard litter, letter go a few hours or overnight & call it good.

I use blue nitrile gloves from WalMart while handling brass & loading. Saves mess and gives gription.

Some believe the jeweler's rouge (your red mess) can damage barrels as it's blasted down the bore.

 

[mgoodbar]

just for giggles last night i turned it back on with a bunch of paper towel squares in it that i cut up. it killed almost all of the dust. I still want to swap over to the walnut though. so i'm gona pick some up thursday and try it out. I have done some sandblasting years ago with walnut on stainless steel and it was very easy to clean up after i was done. LOL first job i ever had sandblasting and painting.. glad im in maintenance now. )

 

[Rule3]

Another suggestion FWIW, I and others use a 50:50 mix of walnut and corncob media. Get the best of both. As others suggested, when you run out just get plain untreated and use a few spoon fulls of liquid tumbling made for tumblers or just good old liquid car was like Nu Finish (oops, not a wax but a a space age polymer or nano technology) They pet corn cob litter is to coarse and will cause you problems of jamming up your cases.

 

[flash60601]

I use plain old walnut hull media from the pet store and a dollop of Dillon purple tumbling polish added when I have tumbled a couple thousand pistol cases. BTW, a tablespoon of mineral spirits paint thinner is good to add when the polish doesn't work as fast as you'd like. I shake them out over a 5-gallon bucket in a collander lifted from my wife's kitchen.

Simple, effective, clean enough. If I want shinier, i just let them go another hour.

Flash